The quest of the zhiah parts 8 to 13
by dragons mirth
Summary: a group of neopets fight to save neopia


The quest of the zhiah-part Eight-A visit to the UnderRealm  
  
Velmon and Liothe crept nearer slowly. the heat from the place radiated up so they could feel it on their faces. the bright rainbow of flowers was luminous against the dark night.  
  
"we should go down there" liothe had a strong urge. "i think it may help rako"  
  
"how do we get down there? we cant just leap off the edge!"   
  
A strange look had come over liothe's face. he looked different. more mature. responsible.   
  
"liothe?" he questioned. "what is it?"  
  
liothe glanced at the big lupe lyeing unconsious on the ground.  
  
"when our minds go into unconsiouness, they tell things we do not know we knew of. rako told us to lift the log. the log is lifted. now we must go down and find out what we need to know. theres something down there, velmon. there must be. now. are we going to hang around, or look and as likely find something incrdible?"  
  
"okay. im game. only dont jump-can i ride on your back down? you can fly" he added.  
  
so the two assembled themselves and got ready for takeoff. liothe had to be balanced well.  
  
"ok? lets go find out what rako tried to tell us" he said, and they swooped down into the beautiful light.  
  
At once they were spellbound by the beauty and looked around themselves in delight. all around them was tranquility and beautiful bright light, colours of every kind, soft flowers brushing against them. then there was the voices...sweet tunes floating melodiously from every corner. velmon clutched liothes shoulders and gazed around him in wonder.  
  
"wow" he said. he voice seemed soft. "this is so beautiful"  
  
they carried on going down for so long it seemed they were in a dream....then they came down to earth with a bump. literally. their feet met the soft moist grass and velmon found himself facing up to a pretty female Aisha. she was Painted faerie, and had little fllowers hung all around her. she had a wreath of pearly pink roses hung round her neck and her dress was made of light pink cotton. it was draped round her in loose folds. she wore a tiara of white gold and pink pearl swirls and when she spoke her voice was as soft as the roses.  
  
"strangers of the other world. long has my father waited to meet you." she whispered. her voice was tickly and seemed to be right in you r ear.  
  
"you are of the four that are destined to save our planet. it has been long awaited. come. you must tell me of your home. it has been many years since one of us ventured to your world and they never returned. i fear they will attempt to thwart your plans before your job is done"  
  
as she spoke velmon couldnt help remembering wysem, who had seemed unaturaly striking for a rough-living kougra.   
  
"she was a flighty one, sent out to learn of the situation of the lequa. but she never returned" she repeated sadly. " for years our world has remained happy and unafected by the lequa. we are the only other realm you can reach without passing through into the prime zone. we are Zone L-the zone of the light. but now i fear our past will go unthought of and we will be revealed to the world. all our hard to work to make this beautiful place will be abolished..." her voice carried on sadly, never breaking or wobbling. "my father created this place millions of years ago. it was the only safe place when the darkness began to spread . we fled here in hope of peace, but when it comes to the lequa nowhere is safe. your world, our home...realms of dark scraggy mountains, the heat, the putrid smell, but most of all the darkness...it is unbearable to think of."  
  
velmon had to interupt then. "listen lady, we're here because a sick freind of ours told us of this place unconsiously. we need to help him, hes in a bad way"  
  
"but your quest in under threat" she replied. "the one who never returned-she has your most valuble freind right where she wants her. the quest will fail if you do not do something"  
  
velmon looked helplessly at liothe. "you have any idea of what shes talking about?"  
  
"no" he replied. then,"yes! oh no! hurry! its wysem-she never returned! she was the one who left! and shes got dorgon-she must be planning to take the old tales! quick!"  
  
liothe took off and soared through the flowers , forgetting that velmon would now be stranded there. velmon glanced worridly at the aisha.  
  
"do not worry. your freind must help regain the old tales. Wysem will learn her lesson yet. but you, you must bring the ill lupe to me as fast as you can. time is running out for him. go quickly now" she said, and wit ha wave of her hand velmon was up on the mossy path next to rako, who lay heaving desperately trying to breathe.  
  
"rako!" he gasped. "whats wrong? why cant you breathe? quickly, rako, i know somewhere you can get help from. quick, you must get up!"  
  
rako pulled his front half up on his feet. he still couldnt breathe and his tongue was a pale blue shade.  
  
velmon ran forward and tried to pull rako along. he stumbled on to his back feet and limped over to the hole.  
  
"look down there! theres where youll get help. if we can just get down there-" he pulled rako along with him a littled further, and then suddenly they were falling through the flowers again. only this time he wasnt gliding down slowly on liothes wing, he was plummeting down unstoppably.  
  
"oh help" he whispered. "please, Aisha maiden, help us somehow"  
  
then the air around him lost the bright blur of color and went white. a moment later he was back at the feet of the aisha princess.  
  
"your freind is in a bad way. we must get him to my father. he knows how to heal the smoke of the lequa, but i fear we have not enough time. quick, peophin, we must hurry"  
  
the princess hoisted rakos huge front legs onto her shoulders and velmon supported the back legs on his. the the nran as fast as their burden would let them , their muscles burning, gasping for air, knees buckling as they raced over the green turf. the world was a blur as they ran on, desperate to save their freind.  
  
soon a huge white stone temple came into veiw, beside a sparkling crystal palace. both were decorated in detail, and as beautiful and bright as every other aspect of the realm.  
  
The princess places rakos heavy front paws on velmons arms.   
  
"you must tako your freind to the temple. i will go to the palace and find my father. i will go fast and so must you. go!" she cried, and they ran their seperate ways.  
  
The quest of the zhiah-part nine-The flower and the old tales  
  
  
  
velmon stumbled on more slowly now. the temple seemed so far. he had to keep running. just keep going, he told himself. keep going . nearly there.  
  
he pounded up the white marble steps, his legs threatening to crumple and fall, his arms desperate to releive themselves of the strain, but he kept going up all twenty steps and staggered into the building.  
  
the aisha princess was there with another larger older aisha, a cloud aisha with peach robes draped round him. his hood was pinned down by a heavy crown of rubys and emeralds which glowed when the light caught them. he motioned to a white stone table with writing in a forin language all over it. carefully, velmon lay rako down on the table, and then collapsed down onto the temple floor.  
  
the older aisha inspected rako carefully. he did not touch him, but observe him from all sides and squinted when he looked hard.  
  
velmon hauled himself back to his feet, feeling like his arms would drop off. he looked ainxously at the aisha. the older nodded at him and then turned to the young maiden.  
  
"unless im mistaken, the lupe has had a connection with the lequa which would put him in the lequas bad books. in his try to get revenge upon the lupe, the lequa has spread some dark smoke around him, which the lupe inhaled. he is now in the shadowlands-see how pale he is? to get him back to us, we are going to have to find the flower of Light. can you do that, Marian?"  
  
"but father, the flower of light was taken from these parts a long time ago-remember when wysem betrayed us? she left the land never to return , taking the flower of light with her. it was her plan to let us one by one fall into the shadowlands never to be saved. to retreive the flower, we must find her"  
  
" i dont think that will be too much of a problem" velmon said, pointing to the entrance of the temple.   
  
walking towards them was Liothe, a Dusty dorgon, and a very sheepish wysem. dorgon clutched something close to her. an old book. could it be??.......  
  
"dorgon?" he called, running up to her. she turned the book round so he could see the title. wiping away some of the dust, he read the gold lettering, twin to the mapbook.  
  
The Journal Of Rekento Shoyru-The Old Tales  
  
"this is it! " he said, turning the cover. there he found a contents page.   
  
chaptor one-portal to the prime zone  
  
chaptor two-the zones in alphabetical order  
  
chapter three-the zhiah's place  
  
chaptor four-how the other world was made  
  
chaptor five-a formidable evil  
  
chaptor six-world peace  
  
"chaptor six sounds promising" he said, leafing through. every word of it was written by hand. it was incredible.   
  
he came to chaptor six and a small envelope fell out onto the floor. he picked it up. it was adressed to dorgon.  
  
"looks like someone left you a mesage, dorgon" he said, handing it to her.   
  
she opened the envelope carefully and unfolded the paper. it was yellow with age and stained in several ways but still readable.  
  
there is a path to freedom  
  
though no-one finds it here  
  
it will lead to world peace  
  
but the path is elsewhere.  
  
if you have strength to find it  
  
and courage to follow on  
  
you will stop the evil  
  
and i know you are the one.  
  
no-one go's alone  
  
or else will never return  
  
you must stay strong together  
  
it will one day be clear  
  
why you once read this  
  
as you stood confused here.  
  
"its a poem" she announced. "quite what it means i dont know but i think part of it is saying that we must find a way to banish the lequa forever-find the path to freedom. i think it would be best if we read the old tales through completely, it might explain things again.  
  
she looked up at wysem, who shuffled under the glare of the others. Marian spoke first.  
  
"i think you have something we need, do you not?"   
  
wysem pulled something from the inside pocket of her coat. it was a bright glowing yellow rose,   
  
"this is the symbol of light in our realm. when our home was first given to us all six roses where kept in the castle. now they have grown into the garden above, but only the six prima roses can heal any illness inflicted by our one ture enemy." marian stated. she then waved the rose several times above rako, and spoke some foreign words. he quivered and his eyes slowly opened.  
  
"i think he's coming back, marien" her father said proudly. he stepped towards rako.  
  
"lupe, you are in the realm of nature. the lequa has cast the dark smoke upon you, however thanks to my daughter here you live on. your freinds are here too, and the uni has the old tales"  
  
he made no move for a while, then staggered onto all four paws and leapt athletically down from the table.  
  
"this place is amazing!" he muttered, then jogged over to his freinds. they looked up delightedly and pushed dorgon forward to show the old tales. he read the poem through as well.  
  
"at least we have some guidance" he said in his usual gruff manner. " we ought to read that last chaptor. it will tell us what to do for sure"  
  
"why not stay for dinner? " marian suggested. " im sure we could discuss the matter later once we have seen to our comfort. and wysem, you had better come with us. you can explain your behaviour in the past few months"  
  
all seven began to walk out of the temple and along the path towards the bright castle velmon had seen before. it wasnt so sparkly in the evening shadows , he thought.  
  
the castle turned out to be lush and exsquisite. the family were obviously the rulers of this land. dorgon wandered for a while what it would be like to live in this land all your life. what a shock it would be to go to the surface and see the bustling streets and thousands of houses of wood and other creative matirials.  
  
"along this corridor there are plenty of spare rooms" marian was saying. "you can make yourself comfotable now and dinner will be in the dining room in half an hour"  
  
dorgon chose to share a room with velmon, just like always. it would help to be able to talk about the old tales and strategies if she could not sleep.  
  
rako seemed delighted at some peace and solitude and immediately shut himself in a room. they could hear his contented sigh as he flopped down on the bed.  
  
liothe rolled his eyes at rako's usual behaviour and remarked as he opened the door to his room thats he hadnt changed at all.  
  
wysem locked herself away consiously and sat inside wandering what on earth she would say for herself.  
  
in the next room, dorgon and velmon were sitting down, already starting to read the sixth chaptor.  
  
world peace is something we all desire whether we know it or not, or whether it has actually come to our minds to think of it in these times. think of clam and peace, silent mornings apart from the birds song and the playful splash of water. imagene if we got up and could just wander outside aimlessly just to enjoy the nature of it. the shops still sleepy and dark, the factories quiet in the distance. world peace would truly mean freedom. after my talks with the true maker of our home i have come to the desision that i am not the one to tackle this probloem , however my part in history shall help they whose heart is brave enough to stand up to the wrong in this place. we are not alone, every world has a twin, be it literal reality or solid like ours.   
  
but life is never as simple as this. as much as we all desire peace it can only be obtained by a stout heart and knowledge of the lequas origin and whereabouts. which is why i write this now.  
  
a knock on the door sounded, and dorgon shut the book. the two trailed down for dinner.  
  
The Quest Of The Zhiah-Part Ten-Revelations  
  
the dining room was a large airy room with silky curtains flapping in the breeze at the windows. the dining table itself was a large wooden object decorated grandly and laden with food of all sorts. rako immediately cheered up and sat down to a huge plate of something sweet smelling. dorgon rolled her eyes at him and sat down more carefully herself. liothe was seated beside her and velmon was talking with marian.  
  
"have you had a chance to read anything?" he asked her and the food was passed round.  
  
"a little " she replied. "its all written in a poetic way and he go's on for a while before he comes to anything of use to us"  
  
"and you havent read that?"  
  
"no. ill try after dinner. it smells very sweet, doesnt it?" she said, politely picking up a fork as marian went past. she tried a mouthful and nearly choked. it was so sickly rich she couldnt eat it.   
  
"what is this? its so sweet! i cant eat it" she said, trying again to force it down just to make a good impression. rako was eating steadily, oblivious to the richness of it. velmon looked like he'd just found out what she had. liothe tried a mouthful and swallowed it down with effort.  
  
"i hope you like the food" marian was saying. "its a sweet flower seed pie and Gage flower syrup with necter. my personal faveourite" she smiled at them.  
  
"oh no" Dorgon giggled. the feeling she had of being caught in the act reminded her of her nights at the neolodge , and she became sad as she remembered her carefree days, and more than that, her days with zarren. life was so different now. a happy life with no responsibilities, to the fate of your world resting leadenly upon you. she could not feel happy without a damp thought a moment later. i will find the path to freedom, she told herself. she thought of how her mother would have felt with the old tales. it would be worse than the strain of this. for your sake mother, so that you may rest in peace, i will find it , follow it , and stop everything wrong that is happening, i promise.  
  
when she awoke from her world, she could not face choking down the rest of the sickly pie.  
  
"exuse me" she said, standing up. "im very sorry but ive just remembered something i read earlier. the food was lovely" she lied, exiting quickly from the room.  
  
running along to her room , she glanced round to make sure no-one was watching her in a place like this. the door clicked open easily and she ran towards the book. opening it to her page, she scanned down to where she had been before the unsucesful meal. there it was. which is why i write this now.  
  
she looked on from then.  
  
the lequa is not a natural being in this place, or the other place. how could something like that ever exist? he's the pawn in the most dangerous game of chess ever played. the rooks and knights will reveal themselves soon enough , and-sooner or later- the king, the real evil behind all this, will emerge. it is hard to think of something greater than the lequ, but in truth, they are no being, nor mortal like us, or immortal like the zhiah or lequa. the greater beings are those we cannot defeat, only persuade. they have lost all heart. their loving heart must be restored to save our world. but they will not listen all the while the lequa lives on. the pawn in their plan must be defeated. if they see a way forward in the evil path they will take it. knock down a tree so high even they cannot climb it across theor path and it will stop them forever. destroy the on we fear. then go to the land of dreams...only your soul can communicate with the greater beings.  
  
defeating the lequa is no easy job, yet so simple to a good heart , hardworker and honest person. the lequa has an origin just like the rest of us. he is a being, immortal or not. he was born at the beginning of time , in the hall of souls. the hall of souls gives birth to good and bad, and weaves the tapestry of our own lives. here he was born and here he shall die.   
  
  
  
there was a murky hand-drawn picture of an elegant hall with a wisp of wind sweeping round it. inside the hall was three tall vases, each with an aincent name in forgotten writing on it. one she guessed would belong to the lequa.   
  
in this hall every soul is given a being, immortal or not. the greater beings created it before they turned interest to evil power. the lequa was born here like you or i. his lifevase is no taller nor wider than ours yet it holds a sample of the deep magic the greater beings have. when they had love and warmth inside them they would carefully tend to each soul, making him or her a good and honest being. now they have no thought to the matter, and the souls see to themself. this means that one on so many is evil and corrupt. this was the birth of evil, here where all else was born too. how can love and happiness be born alongside the evil dark of the world in harmony? it is one of the many underlying strengths love has which we only find out in the neediest of times. the lequa was born and formed here, in his lifevase , and here he shall be banished to.  
  
  
  
there was another drawing then, a swirly detailed ring with a black gem set into it. it must have been years old but the drawing was clear and unspoilt.  
  
this is the lequas life ring. he who wears it shall conduct his life. the greater beings who still befreind the zhiah and look to the light wear the rings of life on their worn fingers. each soul has a guardien. no-one wears the lequas ring, for he is evil and the ring could poisen a good heart. with the power of the lequa at your hands you could conduct his life by your mind, and destroy the world or both. the evil rings are locked away so no-one could ever wear them and do such a thing to our sweet loving world, yet to defeat the lequa the chosen one must weild the ring and banish him forever to his vase or life. he will never again infect our home with his ways then. the hall of souls is where everyones destiny lies. for our world to continue the chosen one must travek through her heart to the hall of souls and stop this before it is too late.  
  
dorgon was beginning to tremble as she read on.  
  
there the chosen one ends the dark fate to our home and the danger is over. imagene our world as free and happy as we ever dreamed of..the land of dreams, where the hall lies, in our hands to cherish the new life brought here, so that no evil shall ever enter here again.imagene....and then imagene if the quest failed.  
  
imagene a dark world of scraggy black mountains and a blood red sky. the screeching of the pterati's as they swoop dangerously close to you. the ground boasts no lush valleys or green grass , deep blue waters and tall trees. none.  
  
our careful world destroyed. should this book fall into the wrong hands it would take strength i did not know of to retain it.  
  
for now that is all i know of our fate. there is hope. we can be saved.  
  
dorgon left the book. she got up and went to the window. the night was sharp and clear , with the stars shining bright in their blue world. she imagened her mother , dressed in a snowy gown standing up in heavens , watching down on neopia.  
  
then she imagened the world the way rekento had described it should the quest fail. the sky a deep unforgiveable red. the ground rocky and bear. it was unthinkable. she shook her head slowly.  
  
she looked up to the sky the way she used to back in the above world. the stars whispered secretly and then went silent. they were waiting for her.  
  
"ive been away for a while" she said. "im back now. i want you to tell mother i love her and im not afraid. i know what to do now"  
  
for one beautiful moment the sky rearanged itself. the stars formed the shape of a dancing unicorn with a long flowing mane and tail. next to it was a tall, proud shoyru, with a book in his hand. it was rekento.   
  
it was just for a moment, though. a second later the sky was itself again, deep and blue and clear.  
  
The Quest Of The Zhiah-Part Eleven-Anya Hakuki  
  
" so what do you think we should do? i mean, it says there very clearly the chosen one has to do this. so how do you get to the world of dreams?"  
  
" i dont think its so easy as that" dorgon replied, frowning at the book. "you see, i cant just get ther telepathically. its not so simple as that. we have to get the crystal of Bellmonte to acess the world of dreams. and according to the book, only the zhiah knows where it is. which means we have to see the zhiah and as likely complete a quest of his. we have to find his portal. its no simple matter" she glared at the scrawly hanbdwriting and turned the page. "if only rekento hadnt been locked away for all those years. im sure he'd have been more im his right mind . he's lost the sense here and gone poetic. its like a never-ending riddle!" she cursed.  
  
velmon looked up from his seat by the window.   
  
" maybe we should treat it like a riddle, then. what exactly does it say?"  
  
dorgon traced her finger along the page. she turned slightly towards the window, letting the morning sunlight fall gently onto the paper.  
  
" ' ahh, crystal of bellmonte, bellmonte crystal. beautifil stone, as big as your hand, round as the sun. a dream in itself that alone gives acess to the land of dreams...but can as easily ,allthough not literally , give acess to the shadowlands.' what do you make of that?"  
  
"oh, i think its pretty clear. the crystal gives way to the land of dreams. it can also give way to the shadowlands, but not literally. its not a portal there like its a portal to dreamland. what that means is the lequa will also be after the crystal. so if he catches you with it, you'll be in the shadowlands alright" he broke of dramatically and mimed falling.  
  
"not funny" she complained. "ok, i get that. but listen to this: ' find the portal in the fire . the fire is in the portal. inside one another they live in harmony yet are always dangerous to one another' "  
  
at this velmon held up his hands. " you got me there. how can fire and portal live inside one another, harm and yet not harm one another?"  
  
"can i help?" Liothe poked his head round the door. "you sound like youre in a bit of a crisis. i think i can explain"  
  
"oh good, at least someone understads this junk. i dont know why we ever relied on it" dorgon looked hot and bothered.  
  
Liothe looked amused with this but said nothing. he took the book from her and stared at a picture in there for a while.   
  
"yes, i thought so. now. you must remember that the portal to the prime zone is a bit special. its not down a well or anything obvious like that. its wherever you want it to be, as long as you call upon it with fire"  
  
"you mean we can just signal the portal ?"  
  
"not so much the portal as the zhiah. you see, when the zhiah created here, he made everything so that it could be reached by him. he knew people would need to pass to his abode at some point, and he also knew that to conceal te portal from the lequas minions it could not be in any set place. so it is moveable , and any good heart can call on it. but the lequa saw this could fiol his plan and made it so that it could only be called on in fire. there is his eternal fire burning in the tunnel. it does not harm the portal and the portals magic in turn does not harm it, but they each represent the zhiah and the lequa and both are a danger to each other. agreed?"  
  
the two young ones stared, spellbound by his understanding.  
  
" so that is how they live in harmony yet are a danger to each other. what if the portal dampens the fire? the lequa will not see that happen, he will destroy us . or if the fire blocked the portal? the zhiah will not be cut off from his people, he will surely take action. we are forever in danger of either happening. it is a sad but true thing" he finished.  
  
"hey, youre good at this" velmon said. "unfortunately, thats only one phrase. ok, so we know how to get to the zhiah-fire , and just call on the portal. then he'll tell us what to do to get the crystal , right?"  
  
"thats the idea" Liothe agreed. "so for now. we know what to do. when we get there we can move on to the next step of the journey. but right now we need to prepare-make plans. who are we taking with us? theres the four of us, then i can see marian being of a lot of use. we need strength too i supose, so we'll end up taking troublemaker wysem anyway. thats six. i'd relly like to take seven, it would reasure me we are a proper team, but i have no idea who else to take. any ideas?"  
  
"im sure theres someone in this place who'll come. why do you so want seven?"  
  
"a dream i had last night. it was rekento ,nyrubi and mioli. they were all there, and they were telling me that the seven would regain peace. i dont want to go against all that i respect."  
  
he was beginning to pace around the agitatedly, thinking of people to call on, when marian came bursting into the room.  
  
"Liothe! dorgon! velmon! " she cried. "the spies! theyre in the land above!"  
  
"what?" they all leapt to their feet. "no!"   
  
"theres no time to waste, we must get to the zhiah" she cried. "hurry, get wysem and rako! we must leave now!"   
  
dorgon raced down the corridor towarsds the other rooms. wysem was alreadt outside, looking confused at the noise.   
  
"wysem! quick! we must leave at once! " she yelled, banging on rakos door, "rako, wake up! spies are in the land! we must get to the zhiah!"  
  
rako emerged looking sleepy. "what're you banging 'bout fer?"   
  
"we have to leave now" she panted. "the spies are in neopia. we know how to get to the prime zone, just come quickly"  
  
the three ran back down to the room. marian had left the window open to the garden where she was desperately trying to start a fire. a small spark flew and a yellow flame slowly began to burn.  
  
"who has to call the zhiah?" rako questioned liothe, who was searching the last chaptor for the very question.  
  
"here it is" he called. " ' the chosen one must call the aincent poem of old-Anya hakuki.' it goes like this" he said.   
  
"Anya Hukaki, Anya Hukaki,   
  
shariva hukaki  
  
entrance my lord"  
  
"right" dorgon swallowed. she looked around her one last time before repeating the poem. she saw her old freind velmon, the starry peophin who had stood by her ever since he knew her. ther was the red shoyru Liothe, the large heavy warrior they relied upon for knowledge and safetey. there was Rako, the fire lupe, a wrong doer but sincerely sorry and a dependable fighter and defender. then there was Wysem, the cocky cheeky little kougra who was a fast runner and knew of the old languages, even though she had tried to take the map from them. Marian, the faerie Aisha, a beautiful spirtual spellmaker and intelligant when others were dim. then there was her. she was the one who could bring a stop to this. they relied on her as much as they relied on rako or liothe. she swallowed again as she thought of her dear mother last night, and repeated the words of the poem as she held her hand above the fire. her hand shook and she closed her eyes. her voice was grated and unlike her usual quiet voice. she knew the others were looking at her. i f she failed to open the portal at such a crucial time she could be settig the fate for the rest of the planet. no, this was a time when she had to beleive and had to do what she was meant to.  
  
holding her hand firm above the fire, ignoring the heat as the flame slowly rose, she repated the poem over and over again.  
  
she opened her eyes. there before her stood the blazing portal to the prime zone. she'd done it.  
  
The Quest of The Zhiah-Part Twelve-The Prime Zone Invaded  
  
"lets go!" yelled someone. it could have been rako, or liothe or velmon. it didnt matter. they were joine together as one now. they leapt up through the fire unburnt and felt the deep magic begin to lift them and speedily take them through the blazing tunnel. dorgon narrowed her eyes and watched the space ahead of her, trying to keep her racing heart down. i did it, mother , she said to herself. i found the path. im following it now. i wont leave it until our world is a free place.  
  
she braced herself for the rough ride.   
  
* * * * * *   
  
Up in the heavenly clouds, zarren uni watched her daughter start the mission she'd been born for. a single sparkly emotional tear dripped down her cheek. please keep her safe, she said to no-one. she's trying so hard. she will stop the evil . i know she will. i beleive in her.  
  
another tear fell down her face. as it landed at her snowy feet, it turned into a sparkly diamond, hung on a gold chain . it made no jangley noise in the sweet heaven. zarren immediately recognised it as a replica of the necklace she had given to dorgon in her earlier days. she hung the necklace round her own neck carefully, kissed the diamond and stared down into the stars as dorgon raced on in her adventure.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
dorgon felt the pressure of the speed flatten back her white mane. she saw a small glowing on the necklace that her mother had given her. grasping it , she saw the face of her dear mother staring back at her.   
  
"mother!" she gasped. but the image faded and the necklace stopped glowing. she felt a tear sliding down her face. it dropped onto the diamond hung round her neck. immediately the necklace began to glow again and her mothers face reapeared.  
  
"dorgon" she said slowly. "im here if you need me. just hold your necklace and wish to speak with me. ill always be here for you" she said.  
  
"oh, mother. ive missed you so much" dorgon wept.  
  
"im proud of you, dorgon. you picked up and carried on where others strength would fail. you will save our planet, i forsee it. do not despair when things seem down. your path is chosen for you and together you cannot fail. be positive, and always remember youre never alone now"   
  
then the picture merged into the sky .dorgon saw it and recognised it as the picture the stars formed that night. then it was just a diamond again.  
  
the speed began to steady , and dorgons mane fell back down against her neck. the tunnel was coming to an end.  
  
the six tumbled head first onto a green grassy meadow. immediately dorgon was spellbound by the beauty of it.the trees dotted occasionaly over the ground were long sweeping willows and a deep blue river sparkled nearby.  
  
"this is as pretty as the Light Zone!" velmon gaped. Liothe smiled sincerely and Marien looked round grandly. her pale coat shone oddly in the yellow sunlight. Rako seemed contented and turned slowly, taking in the surroundings.  
  
A figure began to approach them from across the meadow. Liothe sheilded his eyes and looked hard at it. from a didstance, it looked like it could be anything. but as it got nearer, it was recognisable as a zafara, walking on her hind legs . she was painted shadow, and looked like a fighter to be reckoned with.   
  
"greetings" she said in a hissing accent which made her seem more dangerous and mysterious. " its been a while since neopians have walked here. and what would this be?" she caught sight of Marian. "a princess from the realm of light? what a charming surprise. it is good to know that some still recognise the danger when it arises. it was a tact learnt by many older neopians. im sure you all know of rekento?"  
  
they all nodded. who didnt know of rekento by now? liothe smiled, obviously thinking of his grandfather, and all the stories he would tell.  
  
"rekento first sensed all was not right by reading what the zhiah puts into nature for us to notice. nowadays the sky foretells the most, but before that, it was the water, the seas and rivers and lakes. their deep sparkling blue was an ill pale colour, and you knew for sure that all was not right" she paused and stared hard at Liothe. "ah, a great descendant. are you not grandson to Nyrubi?"  
  
"yes, i am" he stated, flushing proudly.   
  
"and a daughter of zarren-oh, i see you wear the Diamond of Veulle" she pointed at the pendant hanging from Dorgons neck. "ive no doubt you're pleased to have a treasure like that now"  
  
the six travelers were starting to be intimidated and confused by the zafara's great knowledge. she noticed them looking uncertain and stepped in.  
  
"come, i will explain what you need do next. my name is Zachira and im a worker for the zhiah. ive no doubt you're here to take on a quest from him-needing the crystal of bellemonte i supose. well you'd best come with me. you see, the zhiah has no form . he cant be a person. he's a literal reality being. he can imitate a being , and contact you through there. you'll need to explain yourself, though. not just anybody can be given the location to such an important factor to our lives"  
  
velmon hung onto liothes arm. "im not sure i like it here" he said. "its all very unreal and untrusty"  
  
" i know" liothe agreed. "but if we just get the quest, and then we'll get out of the zhiahs place and into the wild. we'll be left alone then"  
  
velmon had to be settled with that and stuck on close behind the large red shoyru. dorgon seemed distant, but that was nothing new. no-one but him had a problem with this place.   
  
"im a peophin" he muttered to himself. "im naturally atatched to home. i must just be homesick" he tried to comvince himself.  
  
as they approached a small white building, the zafara was striding on faster. velmon didnt like the feeling he was getting. it felt like being led right into a trap.  
  
"i have a really bad feeling about this" velmon whispered to dorgon. she looked at him somberely but said nothing. he remembered hearing her talking to her mother in the tunnel and dedcided now was not the best time to lay his problems on her. he scuttled over to rako.   
  
"rako, do you have a bad feeling about this?" he muttered quietly.   
  
rako shook his ear as if he was being tickled. "whuh? nothings gone wrong yet, has it? dont panic, velmon, we'll be alright"  
  
they stumbled after Zachira down a ditch. it was getting very rough and unlike the prime zone, and the fear was begining to drive velmon insane. he couldnt stand it any longer and bolted up the side of the ditch. he was nearly at the top when someone yelled;  
  
"stop that Peophin! none of them can get away!"  
  
Heavily armed lupes were appearing on all sides of the ditch. velmon backed down , terified of the snarling dogs. there were nearly as big as rako, all painted black.  
  
"its a trap!" liothe cried.  
  
"fight your way out!" yelled rako, leaping up against one of the lupes.  
  
"no! stop ! stay back, rako! we are outnumbered!" marian called to him desperately. rako cuffed the lupe away from them but otherwise stayed back, prowling round the little group.   
  
Zachira stepped forward, smirking. "fools" she sneered. we have been spying on you for days. you havent been careful about concealing youself, have you? remember, not all Lequa spies are as useless as rako" she pointed a long dark finger at him.   
  
"point thay finger at me again snoopy and ill bite it off" rako threatened. he matched the Zafara up for size and weight, and was an acomplished fighter as much as she was. what he didnt have was a back up of fifteen armed lupes. they crept in ever nearer. it was no use fighting, they were trapped. 


End file.
